Learn as You Go
by jbawall
Summary: A visit to see little Teddy Lupin befuddles Harry-after all, he's never held a baby before.


**AN: Hello there! So, this is a oneshot based off of this lovely drawing I saw the other day... (.com/gallery/5652956?offset=48#/d2u0aac) :) It was really quite inspiring. She's a fantastic artist, and I highly recommend her if you like Harry Potter, which I assume you do. As it is, the original idea for this does go to her, I just sort of went with it. And, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, little Teddy, and Andromeda belong to JK, not me. I just play with them for a little while. Anyways! Read, review, let me know what you think :)**

"Harry, Ron, come on, we're going to be late to see Andromeda and Teddy!" Ginny called from the kitchen of the burrow, sounding impatient, "Hermione and I have been ready for ten minutes now!"

"My sister the slave driver." Ron muttered beside me at the sink, sounding somewhat incoherent as he brushed his teeth vigorously, rolling his eyes, "You sure you want to date that, mate?"

I grinned, putting my toothbrush into the holder by the sink with a flourish, "Pretty positive, yeah. But Ron, do you even know your girlfriend? I've been bossed around by her for what-seven years now?" I asked, leaning against the sink with a raised eyebrow.

He spat into the sink and opened his mouth to respond to me indigently, raising a finger to make his point clear, but was interrupted by Hermione's voice come from the stair, sounding angry.

"RONALD WEASLEY AND HAROLD POTTER! GET DOWN HERE!"

We were struck silent at her anger, before I managed to get out, "...my name isn't Harold." slowly, blinking as I looked down the stairs.

Ron winced and quickly put his toothbrush away, wiping his mouth and grabbing his wand before putting it behind his ear as he went out the door, "You win this round, Potter." he said with narrowed eyes as he looked back at my now laughing figure.

"Whatever you say, mate." I said between chuckles, sticking my own wand in my back pocket, vaguely remembering something Moody scolded me about when I was younger as I did so, "Whatever you say."

We half-jogged down the windy stairs of the burrow, and soon ended up in the kitchen where our girlfriends were impatiently waiting for us, both of their arms identically folded as they stood beside the table and counter respectively.

"You two are acting like you've never seen a baby before." Ron said, throwing an arm over Hermione's shoulders and grinning at her glare as he ran a hand through his red hair, "I mean, they're just little versions of us-"

"Ron, shut up." Ginny said, rolling her brown eyes at her brother as she went to grab the flower pot full of Floo Powder, "I swear, you have no filter sometimes." She came over and stood by me, handing me the pot as she gave me a little smile, " 'Little versions of us'?" She asked sarcastically, turning back to her elder brother.

Ron frowned down at Hermione, who was trying not to laugh at what Ginny had said, "'Mione, you're supposed to be on my side here." He said dryly, clearly not amused with his best friend-turned-girlfriend.

Hermione simply smiled up at him, eyes twinkling, "Sorry dear. I'll try and remember that next time."

I snorted at Ron's expression, and went over to the fireplace, grabbing a fist full of the green powder as I went, "What do I have to say again?" I asked, looking between Ginny and Hermione, "I hate floo powder enough as it is, I don't need to get lost on my way to see my own Godson."

Ginny laughed lightly at the memory of me getting lost at Borgin and Burkes, and said, "Just say Andromeda Tonks. That should do the job."

I nodded, and ducked my head as I stepped into the stone fireplace, saying loudly and clearly, "Andromeda Tonks!" Before I was sucked up into the spinning vortex of green flames, closing my eyes tightly, and hoping my glasses wouldn't fall off into some random wizards hearth.

The spinning soon stopped, and I opened my eyes to the nicely decorated home of Andromeda Tonks née Black, and I realized it hadn't been changed since the single time I had been here almost a year ago. I could still see a garden out back through the patio doors, the couch was the same material I could vaguely remember from before, and all of the pictures-of Dora, Ted, and even one of Remus-were still up, smiling down at me as they waved.

I stepped out of the fireplace, and was brushing the soot off of my trousers when I heard someone call out from the adjoining room, "Harry? Ginny? Is that you?"

I stood up straight as I heard the fireplace whirl beside me as it readied itself for one of my friends coming through, "It's me, Harry, Mrs. Tonks-Ginny, Ron and Hermione are on their way." I said somewhat loudly, hoping if she could hear me.

Andromeda walked into the room, carrying a small little bundle with vibrant turquoise hair as she smiled at me, her grey eyes-so like Sirius'-wrinkling slightly at the corners as she did so, "I'm glad you could make it. But dear, please just call me Andromeda."

I smiled back at her and nodded, stuffing my hands in my pockets and opening my mouth to say something before Ginny suddenly appeared in the fireplace, her hair a blur of red in a sea of green as she grinned out at us

"Hello Andromeda-sorry we're late." She said, coming out of the fireplace and over to the older woman, looking down at the bundle in her arms as she cooed, her face melting into a bright smile, "Oh, aren't you just precious. Hi Teddy-I'm your Aunt Ginny."

"Aunt?" I questioned in amusement, coming over to them slowly to look at the face of my Godson for the first time, smiling at Ginny slightly.

"Well," She started, looking sideways at me as she stroked Teddy's round cheek softly, "He can't call me his Godfather's girlfriend, can he?" She looked up at Andromeda, and asked as her brown eyes widened slightly, "Can I hold him?"

The older woman smiled, and nodded, handing Ginny her Grandson as Hermione entered the fireplace, "I only just burped him, so he should be falling asleep fairly soon." She then turned to my friend, extending an arm towards her, "Hermione dear, could you help me in the kitchen? I need to finish making some sandwiches."

Hermione nodded as she brushed the soot of her blue blouse, "Of course."

As they exited the room, I looked down at my godson in wonder, saying quietly, "He's so little." And indeed he was. He was only as long as Ginny's forearm, with bright turquoise hair and a small, somewhat squished face, his eyes a bright blue as he looked up at the two of us, gurgling slightly.

"He's beautiful." She whispered beside me, her red hair falling into his face as she looked down at him in wonder, eyes wide and sparkling, "I'm beginning to understand why Mum had seven kids."

I smiled and kissed her temple, "I think three's a good number." I murmured, looking back down at Teddy as I wrapped a arm around her waist, "Don't you?"

She laughed softly, and nodded, "I think so too. Though, I think that's a long ways off for us."

I was quiet, then, "Us?" I asked softly, looking at her, amused as I saw a blush climb up her neck and onto her cheeks before hitting her ears like the rest of her family's did.

"I didn't mean us as in, Us-" She started, stuttering slightly and biting her lip, "I meant us as in, our generation, you know-?"

I chuckled lowly at her embarrassment, and pressed my lips to her forehead, "Gin, it's okay. I got it."

"Right." She muttered, chewing on her pink lower lip, shaking her head slightly in embarrassment as she pushed a strand of hair from her face.

The fireplace whirled again, and Ron stumbled in, brushing soot off his face as he looked at the two of us, eyes going to the babe in Ginny's arms, "So, is this him? The famous Teddy Lupin?" He asked somewhat roughly, looking somewhat anxious as he peered at Teddy, hands firmly in his pockets.

Ginny grinned at her brothers nerves, and I went back to sit on the couch as she held Teddy up for him to see better, "Looks like Tonks, doesn't he? We'll have to make sure he knows how to make a pig snout like his Mum." She said, looking back down at Teddy and ticking his belly, "Won't we Teddy?"

He gurgled as smiled a toothless smile at her, his little arms and legs wiggling as he reached up for her hair that was dangling in his face, his own hair changing to a dark red as he did, eyes changing to a muddy brown.

"Bloody hell." Ron muttered, looking down at the baby in amazement, "He's brilliant, and he's not even a year old. You're gonna have your hands full mate." He said, glancing at me.

I hardly registered what he said though, my gaze too focused on Ginny and how she was smiling at Teddy, who suddenly looked so like her. My mind flashed to an image of her holding a baby with black hair and green eyes, tickling their stomach as they giggled like crazy-albeit toothlessly-and knowing that that baby she was holding was mine and hers...

"Harry?" Came Ginny's soft voice, suddenly closer to me than I remembered.

I jumped slightly at my name coming from her lips, and looked up at her in puzzlement as she came towards me with Teddy still in her arms, "Yeah?" I asked, brow furrowed as she kept coming to me.

"Could you hold him for me?" She seemed to repeat, raising her red eyebrows, "Ron apparently can't." She ignored Ron's protests in the background, and kept her gaze on me.

"Oh." I said, swallowing slightly as I held my hands up for her to hand him off to me, "Urm, yeah. I can do that." I said nervously, taking him from her and letting our arms graze each other as I did so, my heart pounding as the knowledge I was holding a living, and tiny, human being suddenly came to light.

"Thanks." She said with a smile, pulling away and leaving the room, saying over she shoulder as she went, "I'm just gonna help Hermione and Andromeda bring in the food."

"Right." I muttered, looking down at the baby that was staring up at me with now green eyes, a spitting image of the baby I had just a short while ago imagined, "I'll be here."

The room was quiet for a while after Ginny left, and it stayed like that for a while before Ron asked slowly, looking at me carefully, "Does he feel as light as he looks?"

I nodded, "Like he could break if I do anything wrong with him." I murmured, keeping my eyes on Teddy as I held him awkwardly, one hand on his head and one on her small lower back.

Ginny, Hermione, and Andromeda then came back in, plates in hand and smiles on their faces as they handed Ron some food, and grabbed some for themselves, the sound of laughter and talking coming over the room with a soft murmur.

Ginny came by me, setting down the sandwiches and looking at me carefully before she came beside me on the couch, repositioning my hands as she said, "He's only a baby Harry-he won't hurt you." Sounding amused as she looked at Teddy, eyes twinkling.

I looked at her in uncertainty, moving to give the small Lupin back to her, "Maybe you should-" I started, a tinge of desperation coming into my voice.

She shook her head, sitting next to me with a smile, "You'll never learn if you don't practice." She looked up at me through her red lashes, "I'd feel sorry for your future kids if you stayed so nervous like this the whole time." She flashed me a brilliant smile before looking back down at Teddy, making cooing noises at him.

I smiled softly as the picture of that black haired baby in her arms came back to mind, and murmured quietly as I too looked down at my godson, "I suppose I'll just have to learn as I go."


End file.
